Brightspark Blog

Think Outside the Box (of Chocolates): 5 School Trip Fundraiser Ideas

Student travel has many benefits, but is also a big investment. Many school and community groups undertake a number of fundraising activities throughout the year. Whether you're just starting to consider a student trip, or you've already started crafting a custom itinerary with your dedicated Tour Consultant, we've rounded up some of our favorite fundraising ideas to help you on your way!

1) Branded T-Shirts

If your group is creating a custom t-shirt for students to wear on tour, try selling logo space on the back to local businesses. The t-shirts will last long after the trip, and students often wear them around town as a reminder of their travel experience. When the group comes back home, those logos will get continued visibility all around town. And, local businesses will have the added satisfaction of knowing they helped students step out of the classroom and see the world.

2) Garage Sale

One of our groups recently held a community garage sale to help fund their school trip. It was held in their school parking lot over a weekend, and was open to anyone who had items they wanted to sell. The only condition was that every vendor had to agree to donate a portion of their sales to the trip.

The students put up flyers around town and even placed an ad in the local paper. The community made a strong showing, and together they helped students raise $15,000 for their educational tour!

3) Global Becomes Local

An increasingly popular fundraising tactic is to theme your event or activity around your trip destination. Traveling to New York or Chicago? Host a thin crust or deep dish pizza night, where guests can make their own meal. Philadelphia groups can host a build-your-own-cheesesteak dinner. You can also try to partner up with a local restaurant to cater a meal at a discount or donate part of the proceeds.

Hopping across the pond to Madrid or Barcelona? Set up a paella or tapas cooking class. You can boost your event with a silent auction or a raffle, or include a Flamenco show (and a dance lesson). If your student trip is to Paris and the French Riviera, bring Monaco to your town with a fancy casino night. Groups traveling to Italy can host a pasta dinner or a Venetian masquerade.

Whether you're traveling to the state capital or to a faraway land, you can set up a school fundraising experience that raises money while letting students, parents, and chaperones experience the culture and traditions of the destination country.

4) Pay It Forward

Whether you're dealing with falling leaves or falling snow, many of your neighbors will need a hand completing tasks around the house or in the yard. What better way to build a strong sense of community than by organizing your students and chaperones into a chore brigade?

Create teams of students (with adult supervisors) to help friends and family by raking leaves, shoveling snow, or even clearing out attics and basements during spring cleaning. Students can also help businesses clean windows or take out trash.

Your neighbors and local businesses will appreciate young people giving back to the community, and they will also reap the benefits of inspiring learning through travel. On top of raising funds for their school trip, your students will learn to appreciate the hard work it takes to earn a few extra dollars.

5) Fit-raisers

Fund your student tour while getting your town in shape and having fun! Traditionally, groups host marathons, walk-a-thons, and bike-a-thons. Add an extra layer of competition by challenging your friends and family to reach the number of miles between your hometown and your tour destination.

You can also prioritize fun over fitness and have a dance-off, a jump rope competition or superhero run. If your group prefers the indoors, you can stretch your eye muscles and test your brain power with read-a-thons or trivia tournaments.